Can you see one movie in the theater too many times? Kathy Bell doesn’t think so.

Kathy Bell is happily and whimsically following the movie marketing slogan “see it before it’s gone.”

Indeed, “see it” she has, enjoying the eight-time Oscar nominated film “A Complete Unknown” 29 times and counting since its release on Dec. 25, 2024, with a majority of her viewings coming at The Wilmette Theatre. 

Speaking on what has continuously drawn her to the Bob Dylan (in which Dylan is portrayed by actor Timothée Chalamet) biopic that has grossed at least $63.4 million to date at box offices worldwide, Bell listed the film qualities she values to The Record. 

Firstly, she said, it resonates with her as she grew up in the 1960s, when the movie begins.

“When I first saw the movie, it felt (as if) it was like part of my life, so once I saw the movie, then it was just keep it up, which I have done,” laughed Bell, an Evanston resident.

The music and setting, too, remind Bell of her youth. She grew up in the New York area, and New York city itself is like its own character in the film, she said.

Bell, who is retired from a career in the nonprofit sector, is no stranger to rewatching movies if she enjoys them, which highlights the two other film qualities that keep her coming back to “A Complete Unknown”: the cast (i.e., actors who are gifted singers, too) and room for discovery.

“There’s always something new,” she said. “I haven’t yet come to it and thought, ‘Oh, this is boring now.’”

While she has seen the movie in theaters throughout the North Shore such, as in Evanston and Highland Park, she said she enjoys how personal and intimate The Wilmette Theatre, which is a twin theater (as it has two screening areas) feels.

“(Kathy) is actually here right now watching ‘A Complete Unknown’,” said Amy Falkowski, program director at the Wilmette Theatre, to The Record on a Thursday afternoon. 

Falkowski gets to know theater patrons when she works front-of-house and enjoys asking Bell her movie watch count when she visits.

Several facets set the Wilmette Theatre apart from national theater chains, including its cheaper $10-ticket prices for everyone, more reasonably priced concessions and general approachability, as a space run by Wilmette community members Falkowski said.

“We’re ensconced in this community, and I think that makes a big difference (because) we care — we care about the survival of this theater, and I think that shows,” she said. “It’s not just a job for any of us, not even the high-schoolers. … (We’re) really committed, and when people come in here, they see pride and effort in what we’re doing.”

As program director, Falkowski chooses movies based on what she believes patrons want to see, and she measures a movie’s success against something like “Oppenheimer,” which earned $976 million worldwide when it was released alongside box office phenomenon “Barbie.”

“A Complete Unknown” is currently on track to beat “Oppenheimer” in terms of success at The Wilmette Theatre.

While Falkowski said she can’t make any promises regarding how long a movie like “A Complete Unknown” will run at the theater, she’ll continue to take audience preferences into account when creating the theater schedule, which is released one week in advance. 

For her part, Bell will continue to see the movie until she feels that watching it is no longer a process of discovery or, what is more likely, until it’s gone.

“I just wanna share my appreciation for someone like Kathy and all of our returning regulars,” Falkowski said. “It  just sort of warms our hearts in a way that I don’t think they will ever really realize because we’re not a machine. We’re not a big corporation. We’re just regular people who live here. … We really appreciate how much people love and appreciate this little theater and want to see it survive. So, people like (Kathy) who just keep coming back over and over again make us feel like we’re doing something right and make us want to keep trying.”

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